Southern District of Texas
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Mexican national who stole U.S. citizen’s identity sentenced to prisonRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 39-year-old Mexican citizen has been ordered to federal prison after illegally reentering the United States under an assumed identity, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Following a two-day-trial, a federal jury found Jose Martin Valdez-Galvan guilty May 29, 2025, after approximately four hours of deliberation.
U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo sentenced Valdez-Galvan to 41 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is once again expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment.
On June 11, 2024, authorities encountered Valdez-Galvan in Laredo. During the encounter, he provided a false name and claimed to be a U.S. citizen. Authorities later determined Valdez-Galvan was an illegal alien who had previously been removed from the United States and had returned without permission.
Court records reflect Valdez-Galvan assumed the false identity in 2015 following his second removal from the United States.
Law enforcement positively identified Valdez-Galvan through fingerprint analysis. At trial, Valdez-Galvan disputed his identity, and his mother testified that her son’s name was different, despite having previously identified him as Valdez-Galvan.
The defense challenged the reliability of the evidence, but the jury found Valdez-Galvan guilty as charged.
He will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Cortez, Jay Hileman and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Oliver prosecuted the case.
Jury convicts Laredo man for human smugglingRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 61-year-old man has been found guilty for his role in a conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The jury deliberated for approximately two hours before convicting Gonzalo Chavez following a three-day trial.
On Oct. 27, 2025, law enforcement observed a Dodge Durango enter a golf course near the Rio Grande in Laredo before leaving shortly thereafter. Authorities noted the vehicle’s rear suspension appeared lower than when it entered.
During a subsequent traffic stop, law enforcement observed four individuals lying down in plain view and attempting to conceal themselves. Authorities determined all four were illegal aliens without legal authorization to be present in the United States.
At trial, the jury heard evidence that Chavez coordinated with human smugglers in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, to provide immediate transportation to the illegal aliens after they crossed the Rio Grande. Chavez admitted his role was to transport these aliens to their next destination.
The jury also heard evidence regarding Chavez’ prior alien smuggling conviction.
U.S. District Judge John Kazen presided over the trial and set sentencing for March 30. At that time, Chavez faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
Chavez has been held in custody pending trial and remain so pending sentencing.
United States Border Patrol conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Manuel Cardenas and Michael Poyfair are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Illegal alien sentenced for third narcotics violationRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 50-year-old Mexican national has been ordered to federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute approximately 11 kilograms of cocaine found in his vehicle, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Delber Turrubiates-Garcia pleaded guilty April 25, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton has now ordered Turrubiates-Garcia to serve 120 months in federal prison, to run concurrently with a 24-month sentence imposed for violating the terms of his supervised release. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. At the hearing, the court noted this conviction marks his second federal narcotics offense.
On Aug. 15, 2024, authorities conducted a traffic stop on a 2019 Ford pickup truck in McAllen. Turrubiates-Garcia was the driver. A search of the vehicle revealed two boxes containing 10 packages of cocaine in the rear passenger seat.
The packages weighed approximately 11.6 kilograms and field tested positive for cocaine.
Turrubiates-Garcia admitted he knew the boxes contained narcotics and said he was to be paid to pick up and distribute them. He also claimed he had retrieved similar packages from the same location in the past and had been paid between $500-$1,000 on each occasion.
He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Hidalgo County Constable's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexa D. Parcell prosecuted the case.
Customs and Border Protection supervisor arrested for harboring illegal alienRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 52-year-old Customs and Border Protection supervisor has been charged with harboring an illegal alien, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Andres Wilkinson has made his initial appearance and will remain in custody pending a detention hearing tomorrow before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian C. Bajew.
Wilkinson has served with CBP since 2001 and was promoted to a supervisory position in 2021. In that role, his duties included overseeing the enforcement of customs and immigration laws.
According to the criminal complaint, law enforcement learned that an illegal alien was residing at Wilkinson’s residence without legal authorization. The complaint further alleges that Wilkinson was aware of her unlawful immigration status yet maintained a romantic relationship with her.
Court records allege the illegal alien initially entered the United States on a nonimmigrant visa in August 2023 and later overstayed authorized travel.
From June through November 2025, law enforcement conducted surveillance at Wilkinson’s residence and observed the illegal alien living there with Wilkinson and her minor child, according to the charges. Investigators also observed the alien using vehicles registered to Wilkinson, court documents allege.
In February 2026, investigators interviewed the illegal alien, according to court records. The criminal complaint alleges she had been residing with Wilkinson since August 2024. Court documents further allege Wilkinson provided financial support, including housing, credit cards, assistance with financial obligations and access to vehicle registered in his name. The complaint also alleges Wilkinson knowingly transported the illegal alien through U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints.
The complaint further alleges Wilkinson traveled with the illegal alien to San Antonio and that messages indicated she and her child resided with him.
If convicted, Wilkinson faces up to 10 years in federal prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
CBP - Office of Professional Responsibility – Laredo conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Manuel Cardenas is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
A complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Texas university pays to resolve claims it defrauded grant programRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – The University of Texas at San Antonio has agreed to pay nearly $130,000 to resolve allegations it defrauded the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The settlement stems from a NASA cooperative agreement intended to establish a Center for Advanced Measurements in Extreme Environments.
Federal law prohibits NASA from using its funds, including through grants or cooperative agreements, with any institutions or individuals that collaborate or partner with China or Chinese-owned companies. UTSA agreed to comply with those restrictions during both the application and award process.
The settlement resolves allegations that Dr. Hongjie Xie, the initial principal investigator, maintained close ties with researchers in China and contributed to multiple academic papers published by Chinese universities.
The agreement also required UTSA to submit accurate semiannual and annual reports identifying publications supported by NASA funding. The settlement also resolves claims that UTSA falsely listed multiple publications as funded under the cooperative agreement in those reports.
“Truthful disclosures by research universities are critical when making decisions about federal awards,” said U.S. Attorney Ganjei. “Universities that provide false information unfairly skew the award process in their favor and place our technological and scientific superiority at risk. Prof. Hongjie Xie’s close relationship with Chinese researchers, universities, and publications was in direct violation of UTSA’s agreement with NASA. Now, UTSA will pay for its lack of candor.”
“When universities fail to disclose affiliations with foreign entities, it compromises scientific integrity and takes advantage of NASA’s valuable resources,” said Robert Steinau, Senior Official at the NASA Office of Inspector General. “Institutions entrusted with taxpayer-funded awards have a responsibility to provide accurate information and adhere to all program requirements.”
NASA - Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Green handled the matter.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Two Houston-area women indicted for kidnapping, abuse, and forced labor of minorRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Two Conroe residents have been charged for their roles in the kidnapping and forced labor of a minor child, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Tania Evette Garcia, 37, is set to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dena Hanovice Palermo at 2 p.m. Brenda Mariana Garcia, 39, previously made her appearance and remains in custody pending further criminal proceedings.
A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment Jan. 14. The charges allege that between March and September 2025, both women kidnapped and abused the minor victim.
According to the indictment, the sisters physically abused and restrained the victim with zip ties. They repeatedly beat and forced the child to provide labor and services through force, threats of force, physical restraint and physical abuse, the indictment alleges.
If convicted, each faces up to life in federal prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luis Batarse is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Start spreading the news: New York-licensed attorney and accomplice sentenced in large-scale interstate email scam schemeRead the Press Release
HOUSTON - A man and woman have been ordered to federal prison for their respective roles in an identity theft and business email compromise (BEC) scam, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Bolaji Okunnu, 32, pleaded guilty Sept. 26, 2025, while Amber Bush, 30, admitted her guilt Sept. 25.
U.S. District Judge George Hanks sentenced Okunnu to 39 months and Bush to 24 months in federal prison. Okunnu was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, while Bush received one year, following their terms of imprisonment.
At the hearing, the court heard that from 2021 to 2022, Okunnu operated an unlicensed money transmitting business that received and transmitted funds from the BEC scheme. As part of his scheme, Okunnu, a New York-licensed attorney, recruited two others into the enterprise, collected proceeds, and acted as an intermediary for higher-level conspirators. The court also heard that Okunnu directed co-defendants to destroy evidence on their cell phones and fabricate explanations for large sums deposited into co-conspirators’ bank accounts.
Okunnu and Bush were also ordered to pay restitution totaling $255,399.47 and $1,189,247.02, respectively, to victims nationwide.
As part of his plea, Okunnu admitted moving money through bank accounts he and others controlled. The funds originated from fraudsters involved in a BEC wire fraud scheme involving at least four victims. Okunnu acknowledged receiving the funds and, for a fee, transmitting the fraud proceeds to others.
The scheme also involved the theft of stolen checks from various companies. Bush created bank accounts to funnel money from stolen checks to Destini Godfrey, who is also charged in the BEC wire fraud scheme.
As part of her plea, Bush admitted to using the name and personal identifying information of a real person, without that person’s knowledge or consent, to open a bank account. After receiving deposits into that account, which originated from a stolen check, Bush issued four checks totaling $165,000 to Godfrey.
More than 45 people in multiple states, including Okunnu and eight others in the Southern District of Texas, have been charged in separate BEC schemes affecting numerous victims.
Godfrey, 31, Houston, is considered a fugitive, and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact the FBI at 713-693-5000. He is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
The FBI-Bryan Resident Agency and IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation with valuable assistance from the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office and the Edison Police Department in New Jersey and other law enforcement agencies and U.S. Attorney’s Offices throughout the country. Assistant U.S. Attorney Belinda Beek prosecuted the case.
Illegal alien admits to assaulting officerRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 29-year-old Belize national illegally residing in Conroe has pleaded guilty to assaulting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
On Sept. 23, 2025, authorities conducted a targeted enforcement operation in Houston to locate Sindi Vanessa Moreno-Flores. Law enforcement encountered Moreno-Flores as she was entering her vehicle. When authorities attempted to place her under arrest, Moreno-Flores pulled away and scratched an ICE agent’s upper left arm and hands. She also swung her arm in an attempt to strike the officer while wearing a handcuff on her wrist. Moreno-Flores then fled into a group of bystanders. Law enforcement eventually restrained Moreno-Flores and placed her under arrest.
U.S. District Judge George Hanks will impose sentencing at a later date. At that time, Moreno-Flores faces up to eight years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
She has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.
ICE - Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin R. Martin is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Social Security employee sentenced in multimillion-dollar fraud and identity theft schemeRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A former Social Security employee has been ordered to federal prison for aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to steal government funds, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
David Lam, 46, Pearland, pleaded guilty June 5, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake has now ordered Lam to serve 84 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard about the complex nature of Lam’s scheme and how it involved dozens of fraudulent applications. Lam also used his access to personal data, which was necessary for his actual job duties, to facilitate his embezzlement and theft. Lam was further ordered to pay $3,346,280 in restitution.
Lam was an operations supervisor and claims specialist for the Social Security Administration office in Houston.
As part of his plea, Lam admitted to stealing the personally identifying information of recently deceased men and then using that PII to facilitate fraudulent benefits applications.
Lam worked with various coconspirators – typically, women with children – to file fraudulent survivor benefits applications listing the deceased men as the children’s fathers or stepfathers. If true, this would have entitled the women to receive benefits while raising their children as widows. However, the women had no connection to the men listed on the applications, and the deceased men did not father the children. To facilitate his scheme, Lam would utilize the deceased men’s names, dates of birth and death and Social Security numbers.
He would also instruct the coconspirators to split the stolen funds with him. The women would transfer funds via applications like Zelle, CashApp or Chime.
He was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Gray prosecuted the case.
First week of February sees another 365 people charged in border security-related matters in the Southern District of TexasRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A total of 363 cases have been filed related to immigration-related crimes from Jan. 30-Feb. 5, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
A total of 220 people have been charged with felony reentry after removal, and another 116 face allegations of illegal entry. Most have felony convictions for narcotics, violent crime, various immigration offenses and more. The filed cases also include 23 individuals accused of human smuggling, while the remaining six matters are related to other immigration crimes.
One of those charged is Honduran national Nixon Ariel Villalobos-Quijada. The criminal complaint alleges he attempted to unlawfully reenter the United States within six months of his most recent removal. He was previously removed Aug. 17, 2025, according to the complaint. The charges allege Villalobos-Quijada has a prior conviction for tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. Authorities allegedly discovered him again near Roma without any legal authorization.
Additional complaints allege two previous felons had also illegally reentered the country. Mexican nationals Alvaro Zavala-Valdez and Ricardo Enede Rodriguez-Alvarez had both been previously removed Aug. 7, 2013, and May 10, 2022, according to their respective charges. However, both were allegedly found in the McAllen area this week. According to court documents, Zavala-Valdez has a previous conviction for illegal reentry, while Rodriguez-Alvarez was sentenced for transportation/harboring illegal aliens.
If convicted, all three men face up to 20 years in federal prison.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, ICE - Enforcement and Removal Operations, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this district. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal histories, including convictions for human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes.
An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Jury convicts two Houston-area men in murder-for-hire plot against wrong manRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Two men have been found guilty on multiple charges related to a conspiracy that resulted in the shooting of a Katy man on his way to work, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The federal jury deliberated for approximately two days before convicting Michael Seery, 43, Katy, and Ricardo Obando Jr., 51, Houston, following an eight-day trial.
The jury heard the men plotted the murder over the course of months and executed their plan in the early morning of Feb. 4, 2025. Obando shot the victim several times as the man was traveling on his way to work. The victim sustained gunshots wounds to his neck, torso and hand, but ultimately survived.
“An innocent victim was ambushed by gunfire during his daily commute—all because of one man’s jealousy and faulty information,” said Ganjei. “This verdict demonstrates my office’s commitment to identifying and prosecuting all members of violent criminal conspiracies. No matter your role, if you conspire to commit an act of violence in the Southern District of Texas, we will hold you accountable and seek a significant sentence. All Texans deserve to be able to travel to work without fear of becoming a target of violent criminals.”
“A murder-for-hire plot transformed a Houston highway into an incredibly dangerous situation for morning commuters,” said FBI Houston Acting Special Agent in Charge Jason Hudson. “Michael Seery and Ricardo Obando Jr. showed total disregard for human life and put countless innocent bystanders at risk. FBI Houston proudly partnered with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Department of Public Safety to identify, locate, and apprehend these men in order to bring them to justice."
Seery hired Obando to kill a man he believed had an affair with Seery’s wife while Seery was in prison. Cell phone evidence demonstrated how Obando conducted extensive surveillance and a failed attempt on the victim before finally executing the plot.
Obando shot the victim using a firearm equipped with a silencer while the man was driving to work on Highway 99. Jurors heard testimony from the victim and watched the actual footage of the shooting captured on his in-car camera system, which showed the moment of the shooting and the subsequent 911 call.
In reality, Seery targeted the wrong person. The actual intended target had moved out of the residence where Seery believed he lived.
The intended target testified as did Seery’s wife. The jury heard about the affair that had occurred 12 years prior and that Seery could not get over it. Testimony revealed that even in January 2025, a few weeks before the murder attempt, Seery was angry about the affair.
Evidence included multiple photos of various firearms and firearm parts found at Seery’s home and storage unit. The jury also saw the 3D printer Seery used to manufacture the weapon and silencer that Obando is believed to have used.
Seery had paid Obando through his business to carry out the crime.
The defense attempted to convince the jury there was no evidence about the real intended target or that there was any relationship between the two men and the actual victim, or the intended target. Obando’s defense disputed cellular phone evidence, while Seery claimed he was not involved at in the conspiracy. The jury did not believe any of those claims and found the two men guilty as charged.
Both were found guilty of conspiracy to use interstate facilities to commit murder for hire causing bodily injury, aiding and abetting the use of interstate facilities to commit murder for hire causing bodily injury, aiding and abetting discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and aiding and abetting the use of a firearm silencer during and in relation to a crime of violence. Additionally, Seery was found guilty of transferring a firearm to be used in a felony and felon in possession of a firearm, while Obando was convicted of receiving a firearm that was to be used in a felony.
They face up to life in federal prison.
The FBI conducted the investigation along with Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety and Katy Police Department with assistance of Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hunter Brown and Jill Stotts are prosecuting the case.
Illegal alien receives five years for smuggling cocaine hidden in vehicle batteriesRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 29-year-old Mexican national has been ordered to federal prison for possessing narcotics with the intent to distribute, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Azael Sotelo-Espinoza pleaded guilty Oct. 22, 2025.
U.S. District Judge David Morales has now ordered Sotelo-Espinoza to serve 60 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. In handing down the sentence Feb. 4, the court noted Sotelo-Espinoza was not to return to the United States without permission.
On Aug. 15, 2025, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on a white Chevrolet Silverado for a defective light. Sotelo-Espinoza was driving. Upon questioning, he appeared nervous and was breathing heavily, sweating, and his hands were shaking. He also gave inconsistent statements about his travels.
Authorities observed a second battery in the engine compartment that displayed evidence of tampering. An X-ray scan showed the batteries lacked internal components. A K-9 also alerted to the presence of narcotics.
Further investigation revealed two bundles wrapped in duct tape and electrical tape inside the battery. The packages weighed approximately 2.34 kilograms and tested positive for cocaine.
A subsequent search of the vehicle uncovered jumper cables and a wrench that fit the terminals on the battery located in the back seat.
Authorities also discovered Sotelo-Espinoza had deleted cell phone messages before they approached him and that the vehicle he was driving had made frequent trips from the Rio Grande Valley to Houston, returning the same day.
Sotelo-Espinoza has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with assistance from Kingsville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Yasmine K. Tucker prosecuted the case.
Houston transplant doctor indicted for making false statements in patients’ medical recordsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 66-year-old Houston physician has been charged with falsifying medical records which made potential transplant recipients ineligible for organ donations, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
John Stevenson Bynon Jr. has now surrendered to federal authorities and is set for his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dena H. Palermo at 2 p.m.
According to the indictment, returned Jan. 14, Bynon was Director of Abdominal Organ Transplantation and Surgical Director for Liver Transplantation at Memorial Hermann Health System’s Texas Medical Center in Houston. Under his care, patients were allegedly activated on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) liver transplant waitlist while awaiting an organ donation.
The charges allege that even though patients should have been able to receive donations through UNOS, Bynon made false statements in their medical records which rendered them functionally ineligible for a donation. Patients, their families, and other members of their medical care team, were unaware of the false information, according to court documents. Many patients allegedly remained ineligible for months without knowing they could not receive donor organ offers during that time.
“Dr. Bynon is alleged to have betrayed the most sacred duty of a medical professional—to heal,” said Ganjei. “According to the indictment, he stole years and hope from those who trusted him most by falsifying records and preventing patients from receiving organ transplants. Rest assured, the Southern District of Texas will continue to seek justice for every victim in this case.”
“Ultimately, at the center of this case are vulnerable patients who hung their hope of survival on a nationally renowned surgeon now federally charged for manipulating their medical records,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jason Hudson of the FBI Houston Field Office. “Dr. Bynon is accused of manipulating the criteria of patients on organ transplant waiting lists, thereby allegedly manipulating the patients’ chance of survival. Today’s indictment makes it clear that the FBI will investigate allegations of patient harm regardless of how reputable and respected the practitioner is or the hospital system they work for.”
“Falsely manipulating organ transplant eligibility endangers lives and undermines the integrity of our health care system,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason E. Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “The allegations in this indictment, if proven true, represent a grave betrayal of medical ethics and patient trust. HHS-OIG will work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that anyone who falsifies medical records to manipulate patient care is stopped, caught and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
The indictment further alleges that due to Bynon’s unilateral decision making and false statements, which were unknown to other care providers, patients continued receiving health care benefits, items and services that Medicare paid as if they were eligible to receive donor organ offers.
Some of Bynon’s patients had dire health outcomes. The indictment alleges two others sought care at alternate facilities following the discovery of the alleged false statements and ultimately received organ transplants.
Bynon is charged with five counts of making false statements in health care matters. If convicted, he faces up to five years in federal prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine upon each conviction.
FBI and DHHS-OIG conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sherin Daniel and Suzanne Elmilady are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Going bust: Houston man sentenced for $1 million embezzlement scheme to fund gambling habitRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 34-year-old Spring resident has been sentenced for embezzling more than $1 million from his employer, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Donald Ray Owens Jr. pleaded guilty May 9, 2025.
U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks Jr. has now ordered Owens to serve 24 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional testimony from Owens, who asked for leniency and said he had developed an addiction to online sports gambling. In imposing the sentence, the court noted the significant financial harm to the company and Owens’ repeated misuse of its credit card. Owens must also pay $1,081,722.96 in restitution.
Owens was employed at Dominion Aesthetics Technology Inc. Between May 2022 and January 2024, he used his company credit card approximately 217 times to send money to an online payment platform account opened in his wife’s name. He then transferred the funds to bank accounts he controlled and ultimately into a personal gambling account.
He admitted he used the company credit card to embezzle approximately $1.1 million to pay gambling debts he incurred.
Owens was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman prosecuted the case.
Beeville resident sentenced to 12 years for possessing over 1,000 sexual images and videos of childrenRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 31-year-old man has been ordered to federal prison for possession of child sexual abuse material, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Brian Perez pleaded guilty Aug. 20, 2025.
U.S. District Judge David Morales has now ordered Perez to serve 144 months in federal prison. At the hearing Feb. 4, the court heard additional information including how Perez actively sought to trade CSAM videos and images with others online to increase his collection. He will serve 10 years on supervised release following the completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designated to restrict his access to children and the internet. Perez will also be ordered to register as a sex offender. Restitution will be determined at a later date.
The investigation into Perez began Nov. 7, 2024, when authorities discovered CSAM had been uploaded onto the internet. Law enforcement was able to identify Perez as the source of the content.
Authorities obtained a search warrant for Perez’s residence in Beeville. They located and seized two electronic devices.
Upon forensic examination, law enforcement discovered approximately 75 videos and more than 1,000 images depicting CSAM. Included in the images were prepubescent children engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Perez admitted he started viewing CSAM two years prior and that there were multiple images on his phone.
He will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Overman and Izaak Bruce prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.
Alaskan man indicted as financial sponsor of unaccompanied minor in Texas alien smuggling investigationRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 44-year-old man from Chugaik, Alaska, has been charged in the Southern District of Texas for paying to bring illegal aliens into the country, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Douglas Price is set to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kyle F. Reardon in Anchorage, Alaska, at 1 p.m. (Alaska Standard Time).
The charges allege Price used a payment account associated with his business to pay approximately $5,000 to alien smugglers for a Honduran woman and her child to be smuggled into the United States. The woman and her child were subsequently separated during the smuggling journey, according to the criminal complaint originally filed in the case.
“This man allegedly paid smugglers to bring an illegal alien child and mother to this country, and in doing so, the child ended up alone during the dangerous journey,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. "Under POTUS, vetting of sponsors for unaccompanied alien children is as strong as ever, and federal partners found this “sponsor” to be unfit. It is a crime to smuggle illegal aliens into this country, and particularly horrendous to expose a child to untold dangers. Working with our federal partners, we will continue to uphold the law and in doing so, keep children from potential harm.”
"This indictment demonstrates the far-reaching and positive impact a secure southern border provides for all Americans,” said Ganjei. “Price allegedly spent thousands of dollars attempting to smuggle two aliens, including an unaccompanied minor, more than 4,000 miles, from the Texas border all the way up to Alaska. Price’s alleged scheme unreasonably subjected this child to incredible risk, as human smuggling is a dangerous, and often even deadly, business. Now, Price will be paying for his own return trip—to a federal courthouse in the Southern District of Texas."
Law enforcement allegedly apprehended the unaccompanied minor Jan. 16 upon crossing the border in Hidalgo. They took the mother into custody six days later as she crossed illegally at the same location, according to the charges.
The indictment, returned Feb. 3, charges Price with conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States and encouraging aliens to come to, enter or reside in the country. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
Homeland Security Investigations in McAllen and Anchorage conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations, Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Refugee and Resettlement and U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Devin V. Walker is prosecuting the case with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Alana Weber in the District of Alaska.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
A criminal complaint or indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
U.S. Attorney Ganjei announces record-breaking year for border security, cartel dismantling, and espionage disruptionRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – The Southern District of Texas marked major milestones in the pursuit of justice and fulfilled its duties with substantial results in safeguarding the district with important actions in the recent year, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The highlighted matters include major announcements throughout the district, Houston/Galveston cases as well as significant actions from other divisions, to include Corpus Christi/Victoria, McAllen, Laredo and Brownsville.
Most notably was the implementation of “Operation Pick-Off,” an initiative created in the Southern District of Texas that targets criminal illegal aliens who are currently serving terms of probation following convictions for state crimes, such as drug offenses, human smuggling, fraud, burglary, assault and other violent crimes. The enforcement effort, originally announced Aug. 25, 2025, led to federal charges against 67 illegal aliens in the Rio Grande Valley area, 65 of whom had returned to the country after being previously removed, only to commit other crimes, according to the allegations. In a subsequent roundup in Laredo, law enforcement took another 28 into custody, including a convicted murderer. More actions are in place for the remaining counties within the district.
In a case out of the Houston Division, Operation Gatekeeper uncovered a scheme in which Alan Hao Hsu and Benlin Yuan allegedly conspired together to obtain export-controlled Nvidia GPUs through straw purchasers and falsely claimed the goods were destined for approved locations. The GPUs were routed through U.S. warehouses, relabeled under a fake company name and misclassified as generic computer parts before being shipped to the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong, according to the charges.
Prosecutors also announced charges against 14 Banditos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang members for racketeering activity, assault and murder. According to the indictment, members and associates engaged in a conspiracy to commit racketeering activity and carried out violent crimes, including murder and attempted murder, as part of a turf war with rival gang BEAST that began in 2019. The indictment alleges Bandidos leadership authorized a “smash on site” order targeting BEAST members, resulting in gunfire on public roadways and in public establishments with civilians present.
As part of Operation Double Down, numerous Houston-area residents were indicted on various charges including conspiracy, operating illegal game rooms, bribery and money laundering. Approximately 700 law enforcement officers from 18 agencies served a total of 45 search and 40 seizure warrants at locations throughout Houston and the surrounding area and closed 30 illegal gaming rooms.
Also in 2025, a 33-year-old Chinese state-sponsored hacker was taken into custody for his alleged involvement in U.S. computer intrusions, including the reckless and indiscriminate HAFNIUM campaign that compromised thousands of computers worldwide. According to court documents, in early 2020, Xu Zewei and his co-conspirators targeted U.S.-based universities and researchers conducting COVID-19 vaccine, treatment and testing research and reported their activities to officers in China’s Ministry of State Security, who directed the hacking operations.
In a major case out of Laredo, the extradition of three Guatemalan nationals were part of a national announcement for their charges stemming from a 2021 mass casualty event in Chiapas, Mexico. The crash allegedly involved a tractor-trailer packed with at least 160 illegal aliens – many of them Guatemalan – that killed more than 50 people, including unaccompanied children, and injured over 100 more. The three smugglers – Tomas Quino Canil, Oswaldo Manuel Zavala Quino and Josefa Quino Canil De Zavala – were arrested in Guatemala last December and made their appearances in Laredo Sept. 4, 2025.
A six-count second superseding indictment was also unsealed in Houston, charging four Venezuelan nationals for providing material support to foreign terrorist organization, Tren de Aragua, as well as international drug trafficking. According to court records, Yohan Jose Romero and Juan Gabriel Rivans Nunez are two of the topmost leaders of TdA involved in the illegal mining of gold in Venezuela. Giovanni Vicente Mosquera and Jose Enrique Martinez Flores are TdA leaders allegedly involved in international drug trafficking.
In another Houston case, charges allege Venezuelan national Juan Carlos Cairo-Padron and Thomas Michael Fortinberry conspired for years to sell chemical catalysts, industrial equipment and associated services to Venezuelan state-owned steel mills and petrochemical companies that are subject to U.S. sanctions. According to the charges, the scheme involved U.S. and overseas front companies, foreign bank accounts and falsified shipping documents to conceal the fact that goods and services were destined for sanctioned entities.
Notable sentencings out of the Houston Division included Fredrick Douglas Shelton who received 27 years after he was linked to three fentanyl overdose deaths. At the hearing, the court commented on the disturbing fact that after the deaths, Shelton continued to sell fentanyl with a verbal warning to customers that the drugs were strong.
Mexican national Eustorgio Quiroz-Salto was ordered to serve 240 months for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute bulk methamphetamine. He arranged to deliver over 20 kilograms in the parking lot of a church. A subsequent search of his residence resulted in the seizure of an additional 93.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, 12 firearms, a silencer, 351 rounds of live ammunition and multiple firearm parts.
In other Houston cases, two local men received major sentences for child exploitation crimes. Manvel resident Brian Jones received 840 months after uploading more than 1,000 child pornography files and had over 11,000 images and more than 850 videos. They depicted children engaged in sexually explicit conduct which included sadistic and masochistic conduct. During sentencing, the court heard additional evidence regarding how he convinced a woman to send videos of her sexually abusing her own children. Also sentenced was 28-year-old Vermont man Daniel Lee Hicks, who received 300 months for the production of child pornography and coercion of enticement of a child. Hicks began communicating with the 14-year-old minor victim, during which he sent demeaning and threatening messages to coerce the minor to create and send videos and images depicting sexually explicit conduct.
A 25-year-old Houston resident was sentenced to 60 years for robbing five fast-food and convenience store locations. At trial, the jury heard Carl Pickens carried out a series of armed robberies at McDonald’s locations while wearing a red Nike sweatshirt or black hooded jacket, brandishing a pistol and threatening victims as he demanded money from the safe. He then fled through the back door and fled in a stolen black Chevrolet Tahoe, which needed scissors to start.
Another notable sentencing involved a 39-year-old Mexican national with a felony criminal history. Luis Adrian Torres-Tamayo received 105 months in federal prison for illegally reentering the country after removal. He has prior convictions for possession of a controlled substance and in 2022, Torres-Tamayo assaulted two members of law enforcement during a domestic violence dispute. He seized their taser guns and attacked them with his fists.
Other pending Houston division cases include seven Houston residents who were charged for their roles in a $110 million hospice fraud and kickback scheme. According to a superseding indictment, Dera Ogudo and Victoria Martinez operated United Palliative & Hospice Company. The indictment alleges the company falsely enrolled elderly Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in hospice care and misrepresented the services provided. They also allegedly paid kickbacks to group home operators and a physician to improperly certify patients as terminally ill.
Another notable case involves a nationwide business email compromise scheme for which seven people have been indicted. The investigation began when an individual used a synthetic identity to open a bank account that received $3 million in fraudulent payments from a Catholic church in Indiana, according to the charges. Law enforcement has allegedly identified over 80 victims, including public entities, insurance companies, law firms, schools, real estate companies and churches. More than 50 people have been indicted nationwide, including nine in the Southern District, with the group allegedly responsible for more than $100 million in fraud routed through Australian banks.
A 40-year-old Nigerian citizen who illegally resided in Houston has pleaded guilty for his role in a business email compromise conspiracy and nationwide romance scam. From 2018 through 2023, Leslie Chinedu Mba and others accessed business email accounts, redirected payments to fraudulent accounts and moved the proceeds as money mules. Mba also attempted to obtain U.S. permanent residency through fraudulent marriages after being ordered removed.
A podiatrist and the self-proclaimed CEO of a local medical clinic were also charged in a $90 million Medicare fraud scheme in a 15-count superseding indictment. The charges allege David Jenson and Nestor Rafael Romero Magallanes conspired to bill Medicare for skin substitute products for patients who did not have qualifying wounds or any wounds at all. The charges allege they falsified medical records to make it appear patients had chronic wounds and continued billing even after a 2023 audit denied the claims and flagged the conduct as improper.
In Galveston, eight high-level Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, gang members pleaded guilty to racketeering activity, murder and other violent crimes and are facing prison terms of 35-50 years. MS-13 members committed multiple murders, extortion, drug trafficking, robbery and obstruction of justice in and around the Houston area. They committed the murders to maintain or elevate their status, targeting suspected rivals with law enforcement or opposing the gang. They killed the victims using machetes, baseball bats and strangulation, then sent photos of the bodies to senior MS-13 leaders in El Salvador.
From the Corpus Christi Division, Honduran national Marvin Reyes received 108 months in federal prison. He was the leader of an alien smuggling organization responsible for transporting hundreds of illegal aliens from the border further into the United States. Reyes and others coordinated the movement of illegal aliens through the Border Patrol checkpoints near Sarita and Falfurrias as well as by airplane. He also arranged private flights for illegal aliens from Weslaco to Houston.
Valentine Cancino received 324 months for production of child sexual abuse material, otherwise known as sexual exploitation of a child. The investigation began when authorities received multiple cyber-tips indicating CSAM had been uploaded onto the internet. A search warrant led to the seizure of two electronic devices. Upon inspection, law enforcement discovered a video recording Cancino made of himself engaging in sexual activity with a minor relative.
Also of note was the sentencing of Robstown resident Guadalupe Calderon III for pointing a gun at a law enforcement officer. During a traffic stop on Calderon’s truck, he pointed a Ruger pistol at the officer’s face and pulled the trigger. When the firearm misfired, he fled the scene in his truck. After locating him riding in another vehicle, authorities discovered the firearm in the backseat along with over 30 rounds of ammunition and a high-capacity drum magazine.
In McAllen, a 35-year-old Mexican citizen who illegally resided in Palmview received a life sentence for producing CSAM of a family member and coercing the production of the material using various chat platforms. At the hearing, the court heard that Jesus Adrian Barraza-Vega’s ongoing abuse of a minor family member continued until just days before his encounter with law enforcement.
Also of note was the sentencing of three members of the Pasia gang for assaulting two federal corrections officers at the East Hidalgo Detention Center. The inmates, who were already in custody pending federal immigration charges, outnumbered the officers and repeatedly punched and kicked them. They were housed in a gang-designated unit within the facility. One inmate wielded a sock with a bar of soap as a weapon during the assault. One correctional officer sustained injuries that resulted in multiple staples in his forehead.
Laredo’s Operation Noreste Parte Dos resulted in the convictions of six individuals for their roles in an alien-smuggling conspiracy that led to the death of a Guatemalan man in July 2024. Each person filled key roles in the operation, including transportation coordinator, driver, scout, vehicle purchaser, stash-house operator and Mexico-based logistics coordinators.
A father and son were also charged in the division with trafficking over 500 weapons along with ammunition and magazines. Emilio Ramirez Cortes and Edgar Emilio Ramirez Diaz were smuggling the weapons and related items in exchange for payment and had done so on multiple occasions. Authorities had found false walls in both trailers which resulted in the discovery of approximately 534 firearms, 31,482 rounds of ammunition, 525 magazines, 40 scopes, four lasers, 10 rifle slings and other related items. They have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
In another Laredo case, Jesus Covarrubias, a convicted felon and Hermanos de Pistoleros gang member, orchestrated a long-running straw purchasing scheme that supplied over 50 firearms, including high-powered rifles, to a Mexican cartel. Covarrubias falsely reported the weapons stolen and later fled to Mexico after killing a man in a Laredo bar while out on bond. He was returned to the United States and received 120 months in federal prison.
In Brownsville, an armed repeat illegal alien was sentenced to 60 months for his part in a human smuggling event. Alejandro Ramirez-Carranza was a river guide and had conspired with Issac Azuara-Vasquez to transport and smuggle illegal aliens in the bed of a truck after they illegally arrived from Mexico via boat on the Rio Grande River. Ramirez-Carranza, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, admitted to transporting and bringing an alien into the United States as well as illegal reentry and being an alien in possession of a firearm.
The final two members of a deadly alien smuggling group were also ordered to prison in 2025. Julia Isairis Torres and Erasmo Garcia were involved in the attempted smuggling of illegal aliens in March 2019 by motor vehicle from the Rio Grande Valley to Houston. During this failed attempt, a vehicle rolled over and caused the deaths of four non-U.S. citizens with serious injuries to one other. Authorities had identified a Rio Grande City-based smuggling organization as responsible and linked it’s leader and others to a separate February 2022 human smuggling attempt by watercraft from South Padre Island to the Corpus Christi area. The watercraft capsized, resulting in the deaths of four other non-U.S. citizens and serious injury to another.
A 38-year-old Georgia woman pleaded guilty to smuggling 17 firearms and 27 magazines concealed in a vehicle’s gas tank. Mirna Luna attempted to cross into Mexico at the Brownsville-Matamoros Port of Entry. Authorities discovered the weapons during secondary inspection. Luna admitted she owned and drove the vehicle but did not have a license to export the firearms.
Finally, a Brownsville federal jury also returned a guilty verdict against the owners of Abby’s Bakery and Dulce’s Café in Los Fresnos for employing and housing illegal aliens within their restaurant. The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding Leonardo Baez-Lara and Alicia Avila-Guel guilty as charged following a two-day trial. Testimony revealed they hired and harbored workers who were in the United States illegally or on B1/B2 visas without having the right to work. The jury heard that employees were living in a storage area with only one exit, sleeping on mattresses and rarely had hot water.
The district remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes.
America’s first line of defense: The Southern District of Texas delivers record results in inaugural year of Operation Take Back AmericaRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A total of 13,964 cases have been filed in immigration and similar border security-related matters from Jan. 20 – Dec. 31, 2025, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Of those charged, 6,404 people faced illegal entry charges, while another 6,574 were alleged to have entered the country illegally after having been previously removed. Many of these defendants had prior felony convictions involving narcotics, violent crimes and immigration offenses. An additional 889 people were accused of engaging in human smuggling crimes, while the remaining 264 faced border security-related charges of assaulting officers, firearms offenses, smuggling, violent crimes, narcotics trafficking and other matters.
Some of those facing new criminal charges this past year are a result of “Operation Pick-Off,” an initiative created in the Southern District of Texas that targets criminal illegal aliens who are currently terms of probation following convictions for state crimes, such as drug offenses, human smuggling, fraud, burglary, assault and other violent crimes. The enforcement effort, originally announced Aug. 25, 2025, led to federal charges against 67 illegal aliens in the Rio Grande Valley area, 65 of whom had returned to the country after being previously removed, only to commit other crimes, according to the allegations. In a subsequent roundup in Laredo, law enforcement took another 28 into custody, including a convicted murderer.
“For those that want to come to this country without permission and then victimize American citizens once here, we are more than happy to accommodate them with a stay at a federal facility, followed by a one-way ticket home,” said Ganjei. “This initiative is a win for public safety, but, as I said at the announcement of this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is not going to rest until we bring Pick-Off to all 43 counties of the Southern District of Texas. If you’re here illegally and have committed crimes in our communities, consider yourself warned. We are coming. This is what Operation Take Back America looks like.”
Other notable cases allege involve attacks on or impeding law enforcement in the course of their duties. Two of those charged are Mexican nationals Juan Carmen Padron Mendez and Juan Carlos Padron Barron, who allegedly strangled a Border Patrol agent while en route to a Houston-area detention facility. Court documents allege Mendez wrapped his arm around the agent’s neck as Barron grabbed the agent’s belongings and fled on foot before authorities apprehended both men. In another assault chase, the United States charged 33-year-old El Salvadorian national Walter Leonel Perez Rodriguez, who allegedly threw a 32-ounce stainless steel mug filled with hot coffee on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, striking him in the face. The officer allegedly fell to the ground, lost consciousness and was treated for second-degree burns to his neck and arms and a laceration to his upper lip that required 18 stiches. Additionally, Mexican national Javier Cornelio Cruz-Nava, 36, allegedly assaulted a federal officer in Houston. According to the complaint, during immigration enforcement operations Oct. 1, 2025, authorities conducted a traffic stop of Cruz-Nava, who subsequently fled on foot. A Texas Department of Public Safety agent caught up to Cruz-Nava, who then allegedly lunged and threw the officer into a wrought-iron fence, causing two deep head wounds to the officer, according to the charges.
“These officers place their lives on the line every day to protect our communities and country, and they deserve to be protected in return,” said Ganjei. “Anyone who attacks law enforcement is attacking the American system of justice, and those who choose violence over lawfulness will be met with swift charges. The Southern District of Texas has a zero-tolerance policy towards anyone who does so. The message is clear - comply with officer directives and keep your hands to yourself.”
Many others have been charged with human smuggling, such as Texas resident Vicente Garcia Jr. and Jose Alexis Baeza-Combaluzier whose alleged crimes resulted in the deaths of two persons – one of whom was a 14-year-old child. The charges allege Garcia was to transfer one illegal alien to Baeza-Combaluzier who had four other illegal aliens in his vehicle. He departed the area with the passengers but eventually came to a stop due to a flooded road, according to the complaint. When authorities attempted to make an approach, he allegedly accelerated and drove through a flooded area and eventually drove into a canal. Law enforcement immediately began rescue operations, but two persons drowned, including the minor, according to the charges.
Other complaints filed in human smuggling matters detail instances of dangerous and life-threatening conditions of confinement, such as the one against Greibein Alexis Pinot-Duarte, a Honduran national who allegedly smuggled more than four dozen illegal aliens in a refrigerated tractor-trailer near Freer. According to the complaint, a further inspection of the 55-degree trailer led to the discovery of 51 illegal aliens concealed in a cramped compartment beneath boxes of produce. In a similar case in Laredo, Kenneth Gamboa allegedly drove a box truck hiding 40 illegal aliens to a Border Patrol checkpoint in Jim Hogg County. The investigation revealed a false wall in the storage area of the vehicle that had created a hidden compartment, according to the complaint. The charges allege the vehicle had multiple boards screwed shut to prevent the individuals from being able to get out on their own. Also charged is Brandon Lajohn Hargrove, Houston, and Jose Luis Castellanos-Hercules, an illegal alien from Honduras. They allegedly transported 55 illegal aliens in a hidden compartment in a produce trailer near San Ygnacio. According to the complaint, multiple heavy pallets blocked the access door and prevented the aliens from being able to leave on their own. Once authorities discovered them, the aliens had to crawl through a small door to get out from behind the false wall. Several of the illegal aliens in the cases are also facing charges of illegal entry or reentry.
Also among the notable cases brought as part of Operation Take Back America are charges against 16 foreign nationals illegally residing in Houston for drug trafficking and weapons allegations following an operation targeting Venezuelan nationals linked to the “Anti-Tren” criminal organization. Similar to the criminal activities members of Tren de Aragua have committed, Anti-Tren affiliates allegedly engaged in attempted murder, other acts of violence and threats of such. Some members have been charged with conspiring to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and various weapons crimes, with one allegedly being an alien in possession of ammunition.
“The Southern District’s twin priorities are securing our border and the eradication of violent crime. This case implicates both,” said Ganjei. “Operation Take Back America means going on the offensive against transnational criminal organizations to ensure that they cannot take root in our community and endanger public safety. SDTX is going to be unapologetic in carrying out that mission.”
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, ICE - Enforcement and Removal Operations, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this district. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal histories, including convictions for human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes.
An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
SDTX recovers nearly $150 million for victims and the American taxpayer in 2025Read the Press Release
HOUSTON – A total of $148,149,674.47 has been collected in combined criminal, civil and asset forfeiture actions in calendar year 2025, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Across all criminal matters, the Southern District of Texas collected $21,572,847.34 in restitution for crime victims and recovered an additional $85,932,764.13 through civil enforcement actions for the American taxpayer. Working with partner agencies and divisions, the Southern District also collected $40,644,063 through asset forfeiture. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.
“The Southern District of Texas’ mission is not only to protect the physical safety of our fellow citizens, but also to safeguard the taxpayer from fraud and abuse. Over the past year, my office has pursued an aggressive enforcement strategy to recover debts owed to crime victims and the American people. Those efforts have proven successful. The funds we recovered represent the delivery of justice and concrete results for taxpayers,” said Ganjei. “By imposing considerable financial penalties on offenders, my office will continue to make crime more costly and less profitable. Our case results send a loud and unequivocal message to would-be offenders: crime doesn’t pay.”
One matter that has led to some of the significant collections includes the case against Emylee Thai. She allegedly owned and operated a lab which submitted claims to Medicare for genetic testing that were medically unnecessary, induced by kickbacks and included false statements as to dates of service and diagnosis codes, all designed to improperly inflate reimbursements. She fled the country, which paused the criminal prosecution. However, the Southern District of Texas filed a civil forfeiture action seeking approximately $5 million in real property tied to the scheme. The court entered a default judgment, and the properties were successfully forfeited. The case is being prosecuted in partnership with the Criminal Division’s Texas Health Care Fraud Strike Force.
The district has ongoing proceedings and is also seeking forfeiture in other significant matters to include a Medicare fraud scheme involving $90 million in fraudulent billing. A podiatrist and self-proclaimed CEO of a local medical clinic, David Jenson and Nestor Rafael Romero Magallanes, both of Spring, allegedly conspired to fraudulently bill Medicare for skin substitute products for patients who did not have qualifying wounds – or any wounds at all – and falsified medical records to support these fraudulent claims. SDTX has seized approximately $83 million in alleged fraud proceeds, with nearly $70 million of it in cryptocurrency, and is seeking forfeiture of those monies as part of the prosecution and parallel civil forfeiture matter.
A case out of South Texas charging two family members with illicit oil importation, money laundering and material support to a Mexican cartel designated as a foreign terrorist organization, has also led to significant forfeiture seizures and restraints. Maxwell Sterling Jensen, Draper, Utah, and James Lael Jensen, Sandy, Utah, allegedly funneled U.S. currency to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion and facilitated illicit crude oil shipments into the United States. The pending criminal case seeks the imposition of an estimated $300 million money judgment as well as the forfeiture of funds, vehicles, oil barges and real properties.
The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the Department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the federal government and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. Restitution is paid to the victim; criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims Fund, which then distributes the funds collected to federal and state victim compensation and assistance programs.
The Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes.
SDTX charges another 307 people with criminal actions this week in support of Operation Take Back AmericaRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – The first month of the new year has come to a close with another 299 filed cases related to immigration and border security, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
From Jan. 23-29, a total of 169 people have been charged with felony reentry after removal, and another 108 face allegations of illegal entry. Most have felony convictions for narcotics, violent crime, various immigration crimes and more. The filed cases also include 26 individuals accused of human smuggling with four others accused of other crimes.
In addition to the new cases, Mexican national Javier Andres Rivera received a 60-month federal prison sentence for illegally reentering the country without authorization. He has prior convictions for aggravated robbery with a firearm, possession of more than 50 pounds of marijuana, terroristic threats and illegal reentry. He was first removed in 2011 and illegally returned three times.
In Laredo, Mexican national Erik Villegas Cusi was ordered to prison for 51 months for conspiring with others in Mexico to smuggle fentanyl and cocaine during a family trip. Authorities discovered the drugs hidden in an aftermarket compartment in the undercarriage of his vehicle as he entered the United States with his wife and minor son.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, ICE - Enforcement and Removal Operations, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this district. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal histories, including convictions for human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes.
An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Mexican national sentenced for smuggling drugs with family in vehicleRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 50-year-old resident of Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico, has been ordered to federal prison after admitting to conspiring to import four kilograms of fentanyl and two kilograms of cocaine from Mexico, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Erik Villegas Cusi pleaded guilty Sept. 29, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña has now ordered Cusi to serve 51 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. In handing down the sentence Jan. 29, the court noted the toxic nature of this drug and the effect it currently has on the population of the United States.
On Feb. 14, 2025, Cusi approached the International Bridge No. 2 in a sedan with his wife and minor son as passengers. An x-ray of his vehicle revealed anomalies in the center of the car, prompting further inspection. Authorities drilled into the undercarriage and discovered an aftermarket compartment containing six bundles with 4.02 kilograms of fentanyl and 2.05 kilograms of cocaine.
Cusi initially denied knowledge of the drugs and claimed a mechanic in Mexico may have been responsible. In the presence of law enforcement, he contacted the mechanic who confirmed he had only performed brake work.
Further investigation revealed significant underbody modifications to create the hidden compartment. The muffler and catalytic converter had been removed, reshaped and rewelded before installation. There were also cuts beneath the center console and additional insulation used to seal the compartment after the drugs were placed there.
As part of his plea, Cusi admitted he had conspired with others in Mexico to smuggle the drugs into the United States during the family trip. According to documents filed with the court, Cusi knew he was transporting the drugs from Mexico into the United States at Laredo and was then supposed to deliver the drug-laden vehicle to other people in the United States.
Cusi has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Customs and Border Protection, its Laredo Evidence Collection Team and the Drug Enforcement Administration Southwest Regional Laboratory. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Homero Ramirez prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Houston-area resident pleads guilty in stock investment Ponzi schemeRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 40-year-old Mont Belvieu man has admitted to wire fraud in connection with a Ponzi-style investment scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
From January 2022 through August 2023, Carl Channing Spence operated “AEI Financial” from his residence. He solicited friends, acquaintances and colleagues by promising high returns through stock trading specializing in “meme stocks.” Spence promised victims 10 to 12 percent returns by investing in popular stocks during a period of rapid stock market gains. Instead, he diverted funds for personal use and to make purported returns to earlier investors.
Once victims provided funds, Spence created fraudulent account statements that falsely showed investment growth and returns which he used to persuade victims to reinvest. In reality, he commingled investor funds into a single account and lost much of the money through unsuccessful trades.
The scheme resulted in numerous victims who received fraudulent account statements but never recovered their original investments or promised returns. Spence took in approximately $2.1 million from the known victims.
U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal will impose sentencing April 14. At that time, Spence faces up to 20 years in prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Carter and Brad Gray are prosecuting the case.
Fugitive methamphetamine dealer sentenced to 20 years in federal prisonRead the Press Release
VICTORIA, Texas – A 43-year-old Rockport man has been sentenced for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and failure to appear, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Daniel Wayne Dobbs pleaded guilty Aug. 20, 2025.
U.S. District Judge David S. Morales has now ordered Dobbs to serve 240 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.
The investigation began May 19, 2022, after law enforcement observed multiple traffic violations involving a Nissan Sentra. Dobbs was the passenger.
Authorities conducted a traffic stop, at which time Dobbs acknowledged there was marijuana inside the vehicle. Law enforcement conducted a search and discovered a black backpack containing six clear plastic bags of a crystal-like substance, syringes, a digital scale, and marijuana.
The bags tested positive for methamphetamine and had a total weight of over 3.4 kilograms.
Dobbs admitted to making many additional methamphetamine deliveries.
Dobbs was initially permitted release pending his sentencing hearing. While on bond, he was arrested with an additional kilogram of methamphetamine and a firearm and failed to appear for his sentencing. Authorities located him in San Antonio and took him into custody where he remains pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Victoria County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Marshals Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patti Hubert Booth prosecuted the case.
Repeat offender felon sentenced to five years for illegal reentry into U.S.Read the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 31-year-old Mexican national with multiple felonies who illegally resided in Houston has been ordered to federal prison for illegally reentering the country again without authorization, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Javier Andres Rivera pleaded guilty Nov. 12, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison has now ordered Rivera to serve 60 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. At the hearing, the court considered Rivera’s criminal history and noted that, despite a prior lengthy prison sentence, he has continued to reoffend and has not demonstrated a positive rehabilitative trajectory.
Rivera has felony convictions for aggravated robbery with a firearm, possession of more than 50 pounds of marijuana, terroristic threats and illegal reentry. He was first removed from the United States in November 2011 and illegally returned three times.
Authorities discovered him again in July 2025 after arresting him for unlawful possession of a firearm.
Rivera will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Law prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Former labor union president sentenced for embezzling over $280,000 in union fundsRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 42-year-old Corpus Christi resident has been sentenced to prison for one count of wire fraud and one count of embezzlement from a labor organization, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Robert Cirilo pleaded guilty April 28, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos has now ordered Cirilo to serve 21 months in federal prison, to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. The court also ordered him to pay more than $280,000 in restitution.
From June 2021 to January 2024, Cirilo, former president of the United Steelworkers Local 13-1647 in Corpus Christi, used union debit cards to make approximately 430 unauthorized personal purchases. He concealed the transactions by lying to union members.
As part of his guilty plea, he acknowledged the embezzlement totaled more than $280,000.
Cirilo was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI and Department of Labor’s Office of Labor Management Standards conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tyler Foster and John Marck prosecuted the case.
Repeat felon sentenced to 10 years for illegal possession of firearmsRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 38-year-old Corpus Christi resident has been ordered to federal prison for possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Ramsey Guerrero pleaded guilty Oct. 23, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos has now ordered Guerrero to serve 120 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard about Guerrero’s flight from law enforcement during a traffic stop and his resistance to arrest on a separate occasion while facing active warrants. In handing down the sentence, Judge Ramos cited Ramos’ lengthy criminal history, including three prior state convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On June 10, 2025, authorities conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle Guerrero was driving. They noticed the odor of marijuana and requested to search the car. Guerrero refused, fled the scene and eventually crashed his vehicle into a field near the highway before escaping on foot. Inside the car, authorities found two pistols, a rifle and a shotgun, as well as nearly 300 rounds of ammunition, a full set of body armor, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
Law enforcement eventually located Guerrero as the passenger in a parked car and attempted to arrest him based on his active warrants. When officers approached, he resisted, and authorities discovered Guerrero had another loaded firearm located directly beneath his seat.
As a convicted felon, Guerrero is prohibited from possessing firearms per federal law.
He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation with the assistance of U.S. Marshals Service and Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Martin prosecuted the case.
The Southern District of Texas Denaturalizes Child Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
On Jan. 22, the Southern District of Texas, McAllen Division, issued an order revoking the citizenship of Mr. Carlos Noe Gallegos, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a child prior to naturalizing and, later, withheld disclosing his illegal acts and accompanying conviction throughout his naturalization process. Prior to naturalizing, Mr. Gallegos sexually assaulted a child younger than 14 years. Years after he naturalized, Mr. Gallegos pleaded guilty to the sexual assault, and the court issued an order of community supervision. Mr. Gallegos’s acts and his concealment of these material facts warranted the revocation of his 2010 naturalization under 8 U.S.C. § 1451.
“American citizenship is a privilege that this child-abusing monster never should have been able to attain,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We will continue ensuring that anyone who conceals such conduct while obtaining naturalization is found out and stripped of their citizenship.”
“Safekeeping the integrity of our society demands that this Administration be allowed to denaturalize monsters who sexually abuse our children,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division
The Southern District of Texas held that Mr. Gallego’s willful and knowing sexual contact with a child as described in sections 22.021(b)(1) and 22.011(c)(1) of the Texas Penal Code was a crime involving moral turpitude. Because Mr. Gallego’s criminal conduct reflected negatively upon his character, he illegally procured his citizenship when he was never eligible to naturalize and should not have been naturalized.
This case was handled by the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, Affirmative Litigation Unit, with assistance from the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, after investigation by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Man sentenced for eight-year tax fraudRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A local man has been sentenced for filing fraudulent and false statements on his federal tax returns causing a quarter of a million in losses, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Joseph Patrick Butler pleaded guilty April 23, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake has now ordered Butler to serve 21 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by one year of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard how Butler provided false wage and withholding information in his tax returns over a span of eight years to induce the IRS to pay him refunds. The fraudulent refunds were Butler’s primary source of income during this timeframe, and he affirmatively sought to claim these refunds even after the IRS caught on to his scheme and placed a hold on payments.
In handing down the sentence, the court noted that Butler’s conduct was particularly willful and involved year after year of false submissions. The court also stated that “eight years of continuous fraud cries out” for an appropriately significant sentence.
Butler admitted that, for the 2013 to 2020 tax years, he filed false joint Form 1040 U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns and received inflated tax refunds to which he was not entitled. As part of the plea, Butler acknowledged creating shell companies that issued W-2 forms to himself, falsely reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages and significant tax withholdings each year.
In reality, he earned no such wages, and no taxes had been withheld. Butler’s scheme resulted in a total tax loss of over $260,000 in fraudulent refunds.
He was permitted to remain on bond pending and voluntarily surrender to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brad Gray and Shirin Hakimzadeh prosecuted the case.
Houston man convicted of distributing fentanyl that resulted in deaths in two statesRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 25-year local resident has entered a guilty plea to distribution of counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl that lead to the deaths of two people, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Antonio Curo admitted he distributed the drug through the U.S. mail to individuals across the country.
Specifically, Curo distributed fentanyl to a 16-year-old female in Houston who died after consuming pills that contained fentanyl. He had directly provided the counterfeit pills to the minor victim. The victim’s father found her in her room deceased with an imprinted “M-30” pill in a small, orange plastic bag next to her body. Laboratory testing confirmed the pill contained fentanyl.
Curo also acknowledged he was responsible for the death of a 24-year-old man in Connecticut. The victim ordered pills via social media and instant messaging service, and Curo sent them through the mail. The victim’s girlfriend saw him receive the package and ingest the pills before he died.
Curo admitted he was aware of the deaths and knew he was selling fentanyl.
“Curo knowingly distributed counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, showing a complete disregard for the law and human life,” said Ganjei. “The facts are incredibly clear: one pill can kill. Now, two more young lives have been lost to this scourge, and two families will endure a lifetime of grief all because a criminal placed money before morality. My office will always protect the families within the Southern District of Texas by aggressively prosecuting those who seek to poison our community.”
U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett accepted the plea and set sentencing for April 30, at which time Curo faces a minimum of 20 years and up to life in federal prison and a possible $10 million maximum fine.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of partner agencies in Vermont and Iowa, USPIS – Office of Inspector General, Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Bend County Narcotics Task Force, Houston Police Department and Harris County Sherriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anibal J. Alaniz and Casey N. MacDonald are prosecuting the case.
Former local resident convicted for possessing over 500 images of child sexual abuse materialRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 26-year-old Virginia man who previously resided in Corpus Christi has been found guilty despite claiming he was unaware it was illegal to possess child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei
The jury deliberated for approximately nine hours before convicting Anthony Porche following a three-day trial.
The investigation began in October 2023 when authorities discovered Porche had been engaging in activity involving images and videos depicting child sexual abuse material.
At trial, the jury heard how law enforcement executed a search warrant at Porche’s residence and seized his electronic devices. A physical search of his cellphone resulted in the discovery of several pornographic images.
Porche admitted he downloaded child pornography on his phone over a few months and that there were at least five images of child pornography on his device.
Forensic analysis resulted in the discovery of approximately 500 images and videos depicting CSAM. Evidence further revealed that some of images depicted prepubescent children engaging in sexually explicit conduct and in lewd or lascivious poses.
The defense attempted to convince the jury Porche was insane due to his autism diagnosis, therefore not fully aware of his conduct and unable to understand his viewing and possessing CSAM was illegal. The jury did not believe those claims and found him guilty as charged.
U.S. District Judge David S. Morales presided over the trial and set sentencing for April 23. At that time, Porche faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
Porche was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations and Corpus Christi Police Department conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Overman and Izaak Bruce are prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.
334 more charged in new cases related to SDTX’s continuing efforts to secure southern borderRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – In support of Operation Take Back America, the Southern District of Texas has filed another 331 cases in immigration and border security-related matters from Jan. 16-22, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The cases include charges against 18 people allegedly involved in human smuggling. A total of 104 criminal complaints were filed for illegal entry, while another 206 people face charges of felony reentry after prior removal. Most of those individuals have prior felonies such as narcotics, violent crime, immigration crimes and more. The remaining cases charged this week relate to other immigration crimes and smuggling of goods.
As part of the new matters, criminal complaints allege several individuals attempted to unlawfully reenter the country after they had already been removed within the last year. Mexican nationals Jorge Samuel Herrera-Elias and Abel Zambrano-Hernandez were previously removed Oct. 22, 2025, and Nov. 24, 2025, respectively, according to court records, while authorities removed El Salvadorian national Jasson Eduardo Canas-Membrano May 12, 2025. Each allegedly has prior felony convictions, including illegal reentry, injury to child/elderly/disabled with intended bodily injury or burglary of a habitation.
Further, authorities discovered Mexican national Juan Hernandez-Ramirez in the Roma area, according to his complaint. The charges allege he was previously removed August 2023 and has a prior conviction for sexual assault of a child.
All four now face up to 20 years in federal prison, if convicted
Also announced this week was the transfer of two alleged members of dangerous drug cartels to face federal drug trafficking charges. Juan Pedro Saldivar-Farias aka “Z-27” was allegedly a Los Zetas plaza boss and then regional commander of the northern region of Mexico, while Ricardo Cortez-Mateos aka “Billeton,” was a high-ranking member of Cartel del Gulfo, according to the charges. Separate indictments charge both men with participating in large-scale drug trafficking conspiracies operating along the U.S. – Mexico border. If convicted, they face up to life in prison.
In addition to the new cases, Penitas resident Diego Masiel Torres was ordered to federal prison for impeding federal law enforcement during a consensual worksite enforcement operation in Harlingen. Torres attempted to physically interfere by trying to remove the individual from custody and placing the law enforcement officer in a chokehold.
“There is, at present, an unfortunate belief that the public can freely obstruct law enforcement from carrying out their duties, and do so without consequence,” said Ganjei. “If you want to express your disagreement with a particular federal law or policy, there is a right way to do so, and a wrong way — and tangling with the police is one hundred percent always the wrong way. Today, Mr. Torres learned that lesson the hard way.”
Also announced was the sentencing of the owners of Abby’s Bakery and Dulce’s Cafe in Los Fresnos for employing and housing illegal aliens within their restaurant. Leonardo Baez-Lara and Alicia Avila-Guel hired and harbored workers who were in the United States illegally or on B1/B2 visas without having the right to work. The jury heard that employees were living in a storage area with only one exit, sleeping on mattresses and rarely had hot water.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, ICE - Enforcement and Removal Operations, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this district. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal histories, including convictions for human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes.
An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Two sentenced for smuggling over 10 kilograms of cocaineRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas - A 45-year-old U.S. citizen who resided in Mexico has been ordered to federal prison for drug smuggling, after falsely claiming he was traveling to see dying grandmother, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Jimmy Vasquez Gonzalez pleaded guilty Sept. 2, 2025.
U.S. District Judge John A. Kazen has now ordered Gonzalez to serve 120 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.
On May 3, 2025, Gonzalez entered the United States from Mexico driving a Ford Edge with Walter Diaz Nino in the front passenger seat. He approached the Lincoln Juarez Bridge in Laredo and provided a negative declaration. However, a preliminary examination detected an anomaly in the vehicle.
At secondary inspection, a K-9 alerted, and authorities discovered 15 bundles within the floorboard of the backseat which field tested positive for cocaine.
Gonzalez claimed they were headed to Houston to pick up his sister to take her to see their dying grandmother. The investigation revealed his relative, whom Nino claimed was his girlfriend, was not in Houston and the story was false. They were actually intending to deliver narcotics. Nino expected to be paid $4,500 upon their return to Mexico and promised a portion of the proceeds to Vasquez.
The total weight was 10.17 kilograms with an estimated street value of over $140,000.
Further investigation also revealed this was the pair’s second time smuggling narcotics.
Nino, 41, a Mexican citizen with a visa allowing him to enter the United States, had also pleaded guilty and was previously sentenced to 130 months in federal prison. He is expected to face removal proceedings following his sentence.
Both have been and will remain in custody.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Manuel A. Cardenas Jr. prosecuted the case.
Sheriff Martin Cuellar indicted for misappropriating fundsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – The current Webb County sheriff and his assistant chief have appeared in federal court for their alleged involvement in a scheme to defraud the Webb County Sheriff’s Office during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Laredo residents Martin Cuellar Jr., 67, and Alejandro Gutierrez, 47, have turned themselves in to authorities and have now made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina Bryan in Houston.
A federal grand jury returned the now unsealed five-count indictment Nov. 19, 2025. It alleges that between 2020 and 2022, Cuellar and Gutierrez conspired with others to misappropriate WCSO funds.
According to the indictment, Cuellar, Gutierrez and former assistant chief Ricardo Rodriguez used WCSO staff and resources to run a for-profit disinfecting business during the COVID-19 pandemic. They allegedly opened Disinfect Pro Master in April 2020 and entered into service agreements with local businesses and restaurants despite having no employees or supplies of their own. The indictment alleges WCSO employees handled the company’s day-to-day operations from the sheriff’s office where they picked up schedules and equipment to conduct disinfecting services both on and off the clock with the county.
The charges also allege Disinfect Pro Master secured a $500,000 contract to clean United Independent School District schools in Laredo and completed the work using WCSO staff and resources. For more than two years, the business allegedly operated almost entirely with county employees and supplies, incurring minimal overhead.
Cuellar, Gutierrez and Rodriguez each received approximately $175,000 – one third of the profits, according to the charges. Cuellar allegedly used part of his proceeds to purchase property in Laredo.
If convicted, Cuellar and Gutierrez both face up to 10 years in federal prison, as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine. Cuellar is additionally charged with money laundering, which carries an additional 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the amount of property involved in the real estate transaction.
Rodriguez, 65, Laredo, previously pleaded guilty and is set for sentencing March 16. He is currently on bond pending that hearing.
FBI - San Antonio and Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation as part of the Laredo Border Corruption Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather Winter and Robert Johnson are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Dangerous, repeat sex offender sentenced to 23 years for sexually extorting minors in exchange for vape pensRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A 24-year-old Weslaco resident has been ordered to federal prison for coercion and enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Walter Wilkins pleaded guilty Dec. 20, 2024.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now sentenced Wilkins to a total of 276 months in prison. The court enhanced the sentence, finding Wilkins produced child sexual abuse material with a minor victim under 16 years of age and also found him to be a repeat and dangerous offender against minors. The court also heard testimony from the victims’ families who spoke of the lasting and devastating impact to their children.
In handing down the prison terms, the court further ordered Wilkins to pay $13,564 in restitution and serve the rest of his life on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Wilkins will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
“Wilkins sexually preyed upon minors, inflicting mental scars on his victims that will likely haunt them for the rest of their lives. His conduct is even more shocking considering he was already on bond for state charges of child sex abuse when he committed this offense,” said Ganjei. “Wilkins is not the type of person that should be walking our streets, nor communicating online with minors. Fortunately, he will now spend the next 23 years in federal prison, unable to victimize anyone else.”
“Wilkins’ actions represent the worst kind of predatory behavior, targeting and exploiting vulnerable children in our community,” said acting Special Agent in Charge John A. Pasciucco, Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, San Antonio. “HSI, together with our law enforcement partners, worked tirelessly to uncover the full scope of Wilkins’ crimes and ensure he faces justice. HSI will not tolerate those who use technology to coerce, abuse, and traumatize minors. Our agents remain steadfast in their resolve to pursue child predators and protect our children from those who seek to do them harm.”
The investigation began after the mother of a 13-year-old female
reported the sexual assault of her daughter.
Wilkins had picked up the minor and sexually exploited her in exchange for vape pens. Authorities discovered Wilkins had created child sexual abuse material and then threatened to release the files to the victim’s classmates if they ceased to participate in the sexual relationship. At the time, Wilkins was out on bond for two other state cases involving the sexual abuse of children.
Authorities further determined Wilkins exploited three additional minor victims. He advertised the sale of vape pens on social media and then coerced the children into sexual acts instead of financial payment.
Wilkins has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
HSI conducted the investigation with assistance of Weslaco Police Department and Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Devin V. Walker prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.
Sinaloa cartel driver convicted for role in drug trafficking operationRead the Press Release
VICTORIA, Texas – A 51-year-old Harlingen resident has been convicted for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The jury deliberated for less than an hour before convicting Jimenez James Love guilty following a two-day trial.
“For too long, the Sinaloa Cartel and other foreign terrorist organizations relied on drug couriers to finance their campaigns of violence and terror. That ends now,” said Ganjei. “By transporting the hidden narcotics, Love engaged in the calculated deception cartels have used to flood our streets with these poisons. His conviction demonstrates my office’s resolve to dismantle the financial networks that sustain these terrorists.”
The investigation began June 30, 2021, when law enforcement discovered Love was transporting methamphetamine and fentanyl concealed in the gas tank of his girlfriend’s vehicle.
At trial, the jury heard how authorities had conducted a traffic stop and discovered approximately 11 kilograms of methamphetamine and 5.32 kilograms of fentanyl.
Love was hired as a driver to transport drugs for the Sinaloa Cartel. Love’s load was one of many shipments this arm of the organization had made. Testimony revealed that the number of shipments was so vast that an accurate number of shipments could not be determined. However, evidence revealed the single load of fentanyl that Love was carrying contained over two million potential lethal doses.
The defense attempted to convince the jury that Love was not involved in an ongoing drug trafficking operation. The jury did not believe the claims and found him guilty as charged.
U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton presided over the trial and set sentencing for April 17. At that time, Love faces up to life in federal prison and a possible $10 million maximum fine on both conspiracy counts.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Texas Department of Public Safety and Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patti Hubert Booth prosecuted the case.
Penitas resident sentenced for impeding federal law enforcement during arrest of othersRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 19-year-old South Texas man has been ordered to federal prison for interfering with officers in the course of their duties, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Diego Masiel Torres pleaded guilty Oct. 29, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera has now ordered Torres to serve six months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court described Torres’ conduct as unlawful towards someone performing their official duties. In handing down the sentence, the court noted his sentence is warranted as no one is above the law.
“There is, at present, an unfortunate belief that the public can freely obstruct law enforcement from carrying out their duties, and do so without consequence. Today’s sentence shows just how mistaken that belief is," said Ganjei. “If you want to express your disagreement with a particular federal law or policy, there is a right way to do so, and a wrong way — and tangling with the police is one hundred percent always the wrong way. Today, Mr. Torres learned that lesson the hard way.”
“Those who endanger our agents and undermine the safety of our communities will face serious consequences,” said acting Special Agent in Charge John A. Pasciucco of HSI San Antonio. “Interfering with federal law enforcement is a grave offense, and today’s sentencing makes clear that such actions will be met with swift and decisive justice.”
On Aug. 27, 2025, authorities were conducting a consensual worksite enforcement operation in Harlingen. Upon their arrival, several people fled from the area. While authorities attempted to apprehend an illegal alien, Torres attempted to physically interfere by trying to remove the individual from custody and placing the law enforcement officer in a chokehold. Additional agents intervened and subsequently arrested Torres.
He has been and will remain in custody.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney L. Salazar prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
High-ranking members of two Mexican cartels appear in the Southern District of Texas on drug trafficking indictmentsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Two members of prolific transnational criminal organizations have appeared in Houston federal court for significant drug trafficking offenses and/or allegedly running a continuing criminal enterprise, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Mexican national Juan Pedro Saldivar-Farias aka “Z-27,” 42, and Ricardo Cortez-Mateos aka “Billeton,” 41, were transferred to U.S. authorities Jan. 20. Saldivar-Farias is set for a detention hearing Friday Jan. 23 at 10 a.m. Cortez-Mateos made his appearance and will be transferred to Brownsville for his arraignment. Both remain in custody pending further criminal proceedings.
The alleged cartel members were indicted in separate cases in 2021.
Saldivar-Farias was allegedly a Los Zetas plaza boss and then regional commander of the northern region of Mexico, while Cortez-Mateos was a high- ranking member of the Cartel del Gulfo (CDG), according to the charges.
Court documents allege the Zetas were a drug trafficking and money laundering organization which imported and distributed marijuana and cocaine from Mexico into the United States and controlled miles of Mexican territory along the border of Mexico and the United States, including the cities of Zapata as well as Nueva Cuidad Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Saldivar-Farias case allegedly oversaw all narcotics moving through the area. Throughout the conspiracy, Saldivar-Farias and other Zetas members and associates, secured, maintained and regulated the transportation routes used to import marijuana from Mexico to the United States across Falcon Lake, according to the allegations. Saldivar-Farias allegedly charged and collected a “piso” or “tax” for permission to store and transport marijuana and other controlled substances through the transportation routes and areas he controlled. The indictment alleges individuals who did not pay the “piso” or “tax” faced a potential consequence and potentially would be threatened, beaten, kidnapped, tortured or murdered.
According to the charges, Saldivar-Farias caused the delivery of more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and five kilograms of cocaine for importation into the United States during the nine-year conspiracy.
Cortez-Mateos was involved in significant drug trafficking between 2015 through 2021, according to his indictment. Those charge also allege CDG is a violent transnational organization based in northeast Mexico involved in drug trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, human smuggling and other illicit activities. CDG employs violence, including assassinations of civilians and government officials to intimidate the public and control territory.
Saldivar-Farias is charged with conspiracy to import and distribute marijuana and cocaine from Mexico into the United States and importation and distribution of cocaine and marijuana. He faces up to life in prison as does Cortez-Mateos if he is convicted of conspiracy to possesses with intent to distribute and conspiracy to unlawfully import more than 50 grams of meth, more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 400 grams of fentanyl.
The FBI and Border Patrol conducted the investigation into Saldivar-Farias with the assistance of Drug Enforcement Administration and Texas Department of Public Safety, while DEA and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations handled the investigation into Cortez-Mateos. The Department of State, Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and Government of Mexico provided invaluable assistance resulting in their transfers into U.S. custody.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey N. MacDonald and Anibal J. Alaniz are prosecuting the case against Saldivar-Farias while AUSA Lance Watt is handling the Cortez-Mateos matter. Both cases are now part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes these organizations commit, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
The cases are also a part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Fatal bus shooting investigation results in federal weapons chargesRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – An 18-year-old Houston resident has been charged with illegally possessing a machine gun and unlawful receipt of a firearm and ammunition following the recent fatal shooting on a local Metro bus, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Patrick Santana Scott remains in custody on related charges and is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court at a later date.
According to the criminal complaint filed Jan. 16, a Houston Metro bus was in service and carrying passengers Jan. 7. The charges allege Scott was seated near the rear of the vehicle with a backpack when it stopped at an intersection. At that time, another individual allegedly entered, walked toward the back of the bus and fired a weapon in Scott’s direction. Scott then retrieved a firearm from his backpack and pointed it towards the shooter, according to court documents.
The gunfire allegedly resulted in the death of a female passenger seated in front of Scott, who succumbed to a gunshot wound to the head. The charges allege a juvenile male passenger was also treated for a gunshot wound.
Court documents indicate that one of the shell casings from the scene was from a 9mm Glock handgun recovered the following day and linked to Scott. The weapon allegedly had a machine gun conversion device - commonly known as a “switch” - designed to convert it from semi-automatic to a fully automatic firearm.
The charges further allege Scott was under indictment in Harris County for aggravated robbery at the time of the shooting. As such, he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition per federal law.
“SDTX has zero tolerance for those violent criminals who would turn our public transit into battlefields,” said Ganjei. “Scott is alleged to have violated his bond conditions by possessing a firearm—a decision that directly contributed to the death of innocent young woman and the wounding of a teen bystander. The facts, as alleged, paint the picture of somebody with no respect either for the law or for the life and health of his fellow citizens. With these federal charges, the Southern District aims to change his way of thinking.”
“While out on bond for aggravated robbery charges in Harris County, Patrick Scott was the last person who should have allegedly been in possession of a machine gun conversion device,” said FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams. “A young woman was killed and a teenager endures a long recovery because of the disregard Scott and a teen rival held for innocent lives on that bus that afternoon. FBI Houston applauds the United States Attorney’s Office for holding alleged repeat violent offenders accountable at the federal level. We hope these charges make others consider the life-and-death consequences of their irresponsible actions.”
If convicted, Scott faces up to 10 years in federal prison for possession of a machine gun and up to five years for receipt of a firearm and ammunition while under indictment. Both charges also carry the possibility of a $250,000 maximum fine.
FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of Houston Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron Black is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Abby’s Bakery owners sentenced for harboring illegal aliensRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Two owners of Abby’s Bakery, located in Los Fresnos, have been sentenced following the discovery of illegal aliens at their business, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The jury deliberated for approximately three hours before finding Leonardo Baez-Lara, 56, and Alicia Avila-Guel, 46, guilty on two counts of harboring aliens and conspiracy to do so after a three-day trial Aug. 13, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. has now imposed a four-month term of imprisonment for both and further ordered them to serve two years of supervised release and pay a fine of $21,300 each. At the hearing, the court heard the pair harbored six or more illegal aliens at their place of business. In handing down the prison terms, Judge Rodriguez noted they engaged in serious criminal conduct, contrary to the behavior of a law-abiding citizen. The two could also lose their status to reside in the United States.
“For years, these defendants knowingly employed and harbored illegal aliens, disregarding federal law for their own financial gain,” said Ganjei. “Today’s sentences serve as a warning to any business owner who believes they can distort fair competition by utilizing a workforce of illegal aliens. It’s not worth running afoul of the law just to make a quick buck.”
“The couple’s deliberate disregard for the law and the safety of their workers cannot go unpunished,” said acting Special Agent in Charge John A. Pasciucco of HSI San Antonio. “Those who exploit vulnerable individuals and undermine our immigration system will face firm and decisive consequences.”
The married couple, both legal permanent residents, owned and operated Abby’s Bakery and Dulce’s Café since 2012. Authorities discovered they employed and housed workers who were in the country illegally or on B1/B2 visas without authorization to work.
The jury heard the couple housed employees in a small office at the shopping plaza near the restaurant. The room, originally built as an insurance office and later used for storage, had mattresses on the floor and unsafe conditions, including exposed wiring, only one entrance and no fire extinguisher. Between five and six workers lived there at times, including the head baker who stayed more than two years.
Testimony revealed workers were paid in cash, lacked paperwork and at times went months without hot water. One man testified he entered the United States illegally and was immediately hired after a brief interview. Another said Baez-Lara arranged his return after he was removed during the COVID-19 pandemic so he could continue working.
The defense argued the owners only offered shelter to the aliens and that testimony did not reveal harboring took place. The jury did not believe those claims and found them guilty as charged.
ICE-HSI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Baltazar Salazar and Luis Salazar prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Luxury home builders and owners to pay $2.65 million to resolve loan fraud allegationsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Four companies and their three owners have agreed to pay millions to resolve allegations they allegedly submitted false claims for federally funded loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Carnegie Homes & Construction LLC and Signature Collection Inc. (also operating as Fifty Seventh & 7TH Luxury Homes) design and build high-end residential luxury homes. Ram Gupta and Arpan Gupta own Carnegie and Signature, respectively. The Everstone Group provides consulting and construction services. Sapna Patel is the director and sole member of Everstone and also owns The Mosaic Group LLC.
The civil settlement resolves claims brought under the False Claims Act following a whistleblower lawsuit a Houston-area realtor filed in October 2021.
According to the allegations, the Guptas and Patel applied for and received PPP loans by falsely reporting payroll costs, misrepresenting the number of employees they employed and falsifying the purpose of the loans. This resulted in the submission of alleged ineligible and improper claims for payment to the United States. In addition, they allegedly submitted false information to justify loan forgiveness.
“Those who misuse federal programs to falsely obtain public funds are stealing from the American people,” said Ganjei. “This settlement reflects our commitment to recovering ill-gotten gains and vindicating the interests of the taxpayer.”
“The Small Business Administration’s pandemic relief programs were created to help legitimate small businesses keep employees on the payroll during an unprecedented crisis, not to be exploited through false claims,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Michelle Blank of SBA-Office of Inspector General. “This $2.65 million settlement underscores that misuse of PPP funds will be pursued, and SBA-OIG will continue working with the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners to protect taxpayer dollars and safeguard the integrity of SBA programs.”
Under the False Claims Act, a private party (relator) can file a complaint on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the recovery.
SBA-OIG conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill O. Venezia handled the matter.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Southern District of Texas continues its relentless pursuit of border security, charging 319 people with new casesRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A total of 318 additional cases have been filed in immigration and border-related matters from Jan. 9-15, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Of those charged, 113 people face illegal entry charges, while another 180 face charges of felony reentry after removal. Many of those charged have prior felony convictions involving narcotics, violent crimes and immigration offenses. An additional 24 people are accused of engaging in human smuggling, while the remaining two face charges related to other immigration crimes.
Among those charged this week are Mexican nationals Carlos Ricardo Lucio-Lucio and Fernando Soto-Guerrero. Criminal complaints allege both men attempted to unlawfully reenter the United States within six months of their most recent removals. The complaints detail that Lucio-Lucio and Soto-Guerrero were previously removed Aug. 1, 2025, and Dec. 29, 2025, respectively. Both allegedly have prior felony convictions for transporting and harboring of illegal aliens. According to court documents, law enforcement discovered both aliens within the United States without any legal authorization.
Another illegal alien facing charges this week is Mexican national Maclovio Esparza-Salas, whom law enforcement allegedly discovered unlawfully in the United States near Roma. According to court documents, he was previously removed Oct. 11, 2024, and has a prior conviction for possession of a weapon.
If convicted of felony illegal reentry after removal as charged, all three face up to 20 years in prison.
In addition to the newly filed cases, Honduran national Jose Castro Orellana received a 54-month federal prison sentence for illegally reentering the United States without authorization. He has prior convictions for domestic violence, evading arrest and illegal reentry. He was first removed in 2012 and illegally returned twice.
Two Mexican nationals in Brownsville and Corpus Christi also received prison sentences for illegal reentry after removal. Gabriel Rodriguez-Martinez received a 60-month federal prison sentence, while Jose de Jesus Galicia-Castillo received 41 months. Both have prior felony convictions for illegal reentry.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, ICE - Enforcement and Removal Operations, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this district. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal histories, including convictions for human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes.
An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Atlantic Biologicals Corporation co-owner agrees to pay half a million for alleged failure to report suspicious controlled substance ordersRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 64-year-old Miami, Florida, woman has agreed to pay $500,000 to resolve violations of the Controlled Substances Act, including failing to maintain effective controls, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Karen Moody is the co-owner of Atlantic Biologicals Corporation, a licensed wholesale distributor registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration to distribute Schedule II-V controlled substances. The company is headquartered in Miami, Florida, with distribution warehouses there and in Morrisville, North Carolina. The company distributed pharmaceutical and medical products under its DEA registration through National Apothecary Solutions.
From 2018 through at least March 2023, nearly all opioids NAS distributed were sold to Houston-area pharmacies, according to DEA records. Most were hydrocodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone in their highest strengths which are commonly diverted to the Houston-area black market. During that time, the company also distributed millions of dosage units of opioids, as well as large quantities of other commonly abused controlled substances, including carisoprodol, alprazolam and promethazine with codeine.
Under the Controlled Substances Act, distributors must provide effective controls and procedures to guard against theft and diversion of controlled substances to include reporting suspicious orders and conducting due diligence on their customers. According to the allegations, NAS failed to report a single suspicious order to the DEA, despite at least 128 orders that were unusually large, deviated substantially from normal patterns or occurred with unusual frequency.
“For half a decade, Moody and Atlantic Biologicals turned a blind eye to keeping these dangerous and addictive controlled substances out of the wrong hands. Now, her bill has come due,” said U.S. Attorney Ganjei. “Moody will personally pay $500,000 to the United States; this is in addition to the $450,000 her company is paying. When distributors fail to identify and report suspicious orders of controlled substances, they are a part of the problem—and they will face the consequences.”
“NAS is the latest example of a drug wholesaler profiting at the expense of Houstonians, fueling the opioid crisis by allowing millions of highly addictive controlled substances to slip into the wrong hands,” said Special Agent in Charge of the Houston Division Brian C. Leardo. “The DEA is committed to holding companies like NAS accountable and combating the illegal diversion of controlled substances that drives drug overdose deaths and crime in our communities.”
DEA conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill O. Venezia prosecuted the case.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no admission of liability.
Southern District of Texas launches Operation Lighthouse, a new initiative to combat sexual assault of rideshare passengersRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A new Southern District of Texas initiative has resulted in the return of four separate indictments against Houston-area men for kidnapping women while working as rideshare drivers, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Cesar Martell, 32, Humble, and Janaka Manatunga, 57, Conroe, are set to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina Bryan at 2 p.m. Authorities previously arrested Barney Steven Flores, 35, Tomball, who remains in federal custody.
Also charged is Abdou Mbacke, 42, who last resided in The Woodlands. He is a fugitive, and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest.
These charges are the result of Operation Lighthouse, a Southern District of Texas initiative to combat sexual abuse involving ridesharing applications. The initiative leverages federal resources and sentencing laws to secure more meaningful penalties, bring justice to victims and ultimately promote a greater sense of safety within the community.
“Rideshare drivers who exploit the trust of their passengers will face the full force of law in the Southern District of Texas,” said U.S. Attorney Ganjei. “Operation Lighthouse is sending an unmistakably clear message–if you abuse your position to hurt others, we will find you, we will arrest you, we will prosecute you. Every passenger deserves to arrive at their destination safely; my office will fight to make that happen.”
“Cesar Martell, Barney Steve Flores, Janaka Manatunga, and Abdou Mbacke allegedly disguised themselves as trusted rideshare drivers to commit some of the most traumatic and violent crimes against female passengers,” said FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams. “Today’s arrests are due in large part to the bravery of the victims who reported their kidnappings and sexual assaults to law enforcement. We encourage other potential victims of these men, or any other predators posing as rideshare drivers, to come forward and report it to the FBI.”
According to the indictments returned Dec. 16, 2025, Martell, Manatunga, Flores and Mbacke are charged with kidnapping victims and exploiting them for the purpose of sexual gratification. The charges also allege the defendants either drove their victims to locations other than what they had requested or prevented them from leaving the drivers’ vehicles.
In the case of Cesar Martell, he is alleged to have committed two separate sexual assaults while employed as a rideshare driver. Martell allegedly strangled his victims either before or during the sexual assaults.
Court records indicate all four men previously worked for a rideshare company over multiple years. However, the company allegedly terminated their accounts following victim reports. Some of the defendants are also facing state charges.
If convicted, each faces up to life in prison as well as a $250,000 maximum possible fine.
If you believe you are a victim of a similar sexual assault involving any rideshare service or if you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Mbacke, contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law
Repeat felon sentenced again for illegally reentering the country for fifth timeRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 36-year-old Mexican citizen has been ordered to federal prison for illegally reentering the country again, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Jose de Jesus Galicia-Castillo pleaded guilty Sept. 24, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos has now ordered Galicia-Castillo to serve 42 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings again following his imprisonment. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence about his criminal history while illegally present in the United States.
Galicia-Castillo has two previous convictions for illegally reentering the United States after being removed.
He was first removed in 2008 and returned illegally on at least two other occasions. Most recently, authorities discovered him July 25, 2025, near Falfurrias with no authorization to be there.
Galicia-Castillo has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley A. Pruitt prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Repeat offender sentenced to 60 months for illegal reentryRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 42-year-old Mexican man has been sentenced for illegally reentering the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Gabriel Rodriguez-Martinez pleaded guilty March 28, 2025.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. has now ordered Rodriguez-Martinez to serve 60 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment.
Rodriguez-Martinez has felony convictions for illegal reentry as well as multiple driving while intoxicated offenses. He was first removed from the United States in September 2014 and returned illegally again.
Rodriguez-Martinez will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration Customs Enforcement – Enforcement Removal Operations conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana C. Cano prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Prison time for healthcare employees in multimillion dollar adult daycare fraud schemeRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – A doctor and clinic employee have been sentenced following their convictions for receiving illegal kickbacks after ordering unnecessary lab tests and prescriptions, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
A federal jury found Dr. Osama Nahas, 70, McAllen, and Isabel Pruneda, 54, Edinburg, guilty March 1, 2024, of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud and conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute following a two-week trial. Pruneda was also convicted for aggravated identity theft.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now imposed a 120-month-term of imprisonment for Nahas, while Pruneda received 97 months. Both must also serve three years of supervised release following their sentences. At the hearing, the court characterized Nahas and Pruneda as “predators” who exploited elderly, disabled and otherwise vulnerable patients at adult day care centers. Both were also ordered to pay over $3.1 million in restitution to Medicare.
“Medical professionals have a solemn obligation to heal the sick and infirm, not to subject them to unnecessary treatments solely for the sake of making a quick buck,” said Ganjei. “The defendants here abused their unique position of trust and shamelessly took advantage of particularly vulnerable victims. Now they will have several years in prison to reflect on their actions.”
Nahas, the owner and physician at Crosspoint Medical Clinic in Edinburg, traveled to adult day care centers across the Rio Grande Valley ordering unnecessary lab tests and prescriptions on behalf of elderly and vulnerable clients. Pruneda, a medical assistant at Crosspoint, helped carry out the scheme by fording patient signatures on consent forms and misappropriating expensive medications, including pain creams.
Pruneda would strip patient information and packaging from the creams to hand them out as “goodie bags” in an effort to encourage patients to agree to testing. From January 2016 through December 2017, Nahas and Pruneda ordered unnecessary prescriptions and lab work, resulting in millions in losses. They directed those prescriptions and tests to specific companies in exchange for kickbacks.
In June 2018, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Crosspoint and seized hundreds of thousands in stolen medications. Nahas and Pruneda also paid bribes-disguised as “rent” payments-to adult day care owners to gain access to their facilities. Witnesses testified that both accepted kickbacks for referrals, often labeling them as “rent” agreements.
Evidence also revealed that both received tens of thousands of dollars in kickbacks from January 2016 to December 2017.
Nahas was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender, while Pruneda will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI, Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Texas Health and Human Services - OIG conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Swartz and Brad Gray prosecuted the case.
Laredo pharmacist pays six figures to settle Controlled Substance Act violationsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – The owner of Martinez Pharmacy in Laredo has agreed to pay $750,000 to resolve allegations his pharmacy violated federal recordkeeping and dispensing requirements, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Antonio Martinez Jr., 67, is the operator and pharmacist-in-charge. The pharmacy registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration March 19, 2003, and is authorized to dispense Schedule II through IV controlled substances.
In February 2024, DEA conducted an on-site inspection of Martinez Pharmacy and found it failed to maintain required records and filled approximately 173 prescriptions for controlled substances that practitioners without a legitimate medical purpose allegedly issued. They were also written outside the usual course of professional practice. DEA regulations place a corresponding liability on pharmacists to dispense lawfully issued controlled substance prescriptions.
“Pharmacists must ensure controlled substances are dispensed safely and only for legitimate medical purposes,” said Ganjei. “These violations represent a serious breach of a pharmacist’s duty to protect the wellbeing and safety of our community. My office takes prescription drug diversion extremely seriously, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure full accountability when the facts warrant it.”
“When DEA Diversion investigators inspected Martinez Pharmacy in Laredo, they uncovered a troubling pattern of record-keeping violations, including more than 170 improperly dispensed prescriptions,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio Division Miguel Madrigal. “This type of negligent behavior endangers the community, and this significant settlement demonstrates that pharmacies must take their responsibilities seriously or face hefty consequences.”
The Controlled Substances Act and its implementing regulations seek to deter, detect and eliminate the diversion of controlled substances and listed chemicals into the illicit market while ensuring that an adequate supply of controlled substances and listed chemicals is available for legitimate medical, scientific, research and industrial purposes.
The DEA conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill O. Venezia is handling the case.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Career offender admits to drug traffickingRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 52-year-old Laredo resident has admitted to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to do so, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
In August 2024, Pio Alejandro Campos engaged in a series of cellphone and WhatsApp communications involving the potential sale of cocaine. During the course of the undercover operation, he sought to meet in person to discuss specifics rather than communicating via phone.
Campos agreed to supply cocaine and discussed pricing based on delivery location, including San Antonio, Houston and New Orleans. On May 3, 2025, he delivered one kilogram of cocaine in San Antonio for $14,000.
Campos has multiple prior convictions in various jurisdictions. As such, he faces a potential enhanced penalty and could receive up to life in prison. U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña will set a sentencing date at a later time. At the hearing, Campos could also be ordered to pay a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
He has been and will remain in custody pending sentencing.
Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Lou Castillo is prosecuting the case.
New year, same commitment to border enforcement: Southern District charges 201 individualsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – The first full week of 2026 has resulted in 200 filed cases related to immigration and border security, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
From Jan. 2-8, a total of 117 people have been charged with felony reentry after removal, and another 70 face allegations of illegal entry. Most have felony convictions for narcotics, violent crime, various immigration crimes and more. The filed cases also include nine individuals accused of human smuggling, while the remaining matters involve firearms and other immigration-related crimes.
One of those charged is Mexican national Daniel Enrique Rangel-Quezada. According to the criminal complaint, authorities discovered him near Garciasville in possession of a firearm and with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. Not a U.S. citizen, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Other criminal complaints allege several illegal aliens unlawfully reentered the United States in the past week. Two of those men - Mexican nationals Juan Dimas-Sosa and Audelio Rios-Castillo – had been removed from the country in August 2024 and June 2025, respectively. However, law enforcement allegedly encountered both in the McAllen area. Rios-Castillo has a prior conviction for illegal reentry, while Dimas-Sosa had been convicted of human smuggling, according to the allegations. They could receive up to 20 years in prison if convicted of felony reentry after removal.
In addition to the new cases, a Laredo felon has been ordered to federal prison for 10 years in a cartel-linked conspiracy to smuggle hundreds of illegal aliens into the country. At the sentencing hearing, the court heard additional evidence as to the prolific scope of Danny Nunez’s leadership of the large-scale human smuggling organization that served as a “one-stop shop” for all the necessary actions to harbor and smuggle illegal aliens on the United States side of the border. Nunez worked directly with Cartel del Noreste to smuggle over 1,900 aliens which resulted in a substantial amount of illicit profits for both the CDN and Nunez. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the sophistication of the operation, commenting that this was the largest number of aliens smuggled and the most prolific smuggler she had seen.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, ICE - Enforcement and Removal Operations, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this district. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal histories, including convictions for human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes.
An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Houston straw purchasing ring charged with smuggling firearms to North KoreaRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Seven people have been charged for their alleged roles in a firearms trafficking scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The indictment alleges Chinese national Shenghua Wen, 39, whose U.S. visa expired in 2013, served as the ringleader. He has now made his appearance in Houston federal court.
Also charged are Chinese nationals Sifu Zhao, 24, Yiyang Wu, 40, and Mingtong Tan, 27, who all resided in Houston; Jin Yang, 60, Ontario, California; Max Mingze Li, 36, Houston; and Richard Arredondo, 51, a U.S. citizen who resided in Mexicali, Mexico.
According to the indictment returned Oct. 8, 2025, Wen and his girlfriend, Yang, purchased a gun store and directed the purchase of specific firearms and their sale to straw purchasers, such as Zhao, Tan, Wu, Mingze Li, and Arredondo. Wu also allegedly recruited one straw purchaser into the ring and transported pistols to a second Houston gun dealer for sale to others.
Between 2023 and 2024, the group obtained approximately 170 firearms and several thousand rounds of ammunition that were destined for North Korea, according to the indictment.
The charges allege Wen recruited Zhao and Tan to act as straw purchasers. They, along with Mingze Li and Arredondo, allegedly bought firearms on Wen’s behalf. Some of the firearms were later transported to another Houston firearms dealer for resale to members of the ring, according to the charges.
Wen and Yang are charged with conspiracy and conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking which carry respective terms of five and 15 years in prison, upon conviction. Wen could also receive an additional five years if convicted on any of the seven counts of aiding and abetting false statements to a federal firearms licensee.
Mingze Li, Arrendondo, Wu, Zhao and Tan each face one count of conspiracy and varying counts of aiding and abetting false statements to a federal firearms licensee with possible five-year maximum terms of imprisonment on all counts, upon conviction.
All charges also carry as possible punishment a maximum $250,000 fine.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation with assistance from Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations and Houston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Ganz is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.